Q: The Winged Serpent

Original title: Q

1982
R
1h 33m

IMDb RATING

6.0/10

9.8K

YOUR RATING

Crime Fantasy Mystery

NYPD detectives Shepard and Powell are working on a bizarre case of a ritualistic Aztec murder. Meanwhile, something big is attacking people of New York and only greedy small time crook Jimm... Read allNYPD detectives Shepard and Powell are working on a bizarre case of a ritualistic Aztec murder. Meanwhile, something big is attacking people of New York and only greedy small time crook Jimmy Quinn knows where its lair is.NYPD detectives Shepard and Powell are working on a bizarre case of a ritualistic Aztec murder. Meanwhile, something big is attacking people of New York and only greedy small time crook Jimmy Quinn knows where its lair is.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.0/10

9.8K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
Writer-director Larry Cohen, according to interviews, once looked at the Chrysler Building and said: "That'd be the coolest place to have a nest." This single thought was the idea which began the creation of this movie.

Goofs
When Shepard visits the museum to ask about human sacrifices, the curator explains Aztec practices while gesturing and referring to the displays around them. These are however not Aztec, but North-Western Native American costumes and artifacts made at least 400 years later by a different culture thousands of miles to the North. However, the curator explains that the displayed artifacts are not from the Aztec culture under discussion.

Quotes
Jimmy Quinn: Eat 'em! Eat 'em! Crunch crunch!

Alternate versions
Both the VHS releases in Norway, SAV (18 year limit) and Mayco (16 year limit) were cut for all bloody details. Several of the victims were even cut almost out, including the monster itself. Which left both versions with little scenes of the flying monster.

Connections
Featured in At the Movies: Dueling Critics (1983)

Soundtracks
Let's Fall Apart Together Tonight
Music by Andy Goldmark
Lyrics by Andy Goldmark and Janelle Webb (as Janelle Webb Cohen)

User reviews119

Review

Featured review

6/10

Not good enough to be good but not too bad either

Michael Moriarity is a small time crook and ex-junkie who - for a price - can lead the police to the nest of a huge prehistoric bird-like creature that is feeding off the residents of New York City. A lot of reviews rightly praise Moriarity's performance but for me having David Carradine (Kung Fu) and Richard Roundtree (Shaft) play the two leading cops was very cool. The creature is an ancient Aztec god called Quetzalcoatl, and has been revived by a man carrying out human sacrifices on willing victims (a good excuse for some fairly graphic gore). Although the special effects of the creature look dated for 1982 they add a certain charm and for me are preferable to the cheap looking CGI so often employed these days. The bird attacks are gory and fun, one involves a token scene of topless female nudity and there are some impressive aerial shots of the city. The film is occasionally let down by some poor script, the whole idea of the creature living at the top of the iconic Chrysler Building but only one man knowing this is pretty silly and I felt that the plot got bogged down at times with the police investigations. Overall Q is reasonably enjoyable, far better than most of the CGI trash that gets churned out nowadays.